Talk vs. Action

Talk vs. ActionBy Rick Oltman

In this presidential election year there is continuous talk about issues and problems facing our country. The most important issue is our nation’s immigration policy because it affects everything important to us; crime, education, healthcare and the environment. But if you look at what is being done about it you will find that it is almost all talk. In reality enforcement is what counts—that is where the where the rubber meets the road in defending our borders and our sovereignty.

A poignant statement came out of the Western States Sheriff’s Association recently where a Sheriff told the truth loud and clear, “Congress has made very little progress in doing anything concrete." Sheriffs know. They run the jails and as the highest ranking law enforcement officer in their county they see all the criminal activity and the response of law enforcement in their jurisdiction.

What progress is congress actually making? Well, they are talking. The US Senate announced last month the creation of the “Border Security and Enforcement First Caucus.” Five of the nine founding members are up for re-election in November; make of that what you will. They immediately began producing legislation. On the House side, they attempted to discharge the SAVE Act, HR 4088 on March 11, to bring it to the House floor for a vote, and it is still far short of necessary support. This is what congress does, they talk and talk and…

Meanwhile, back at the ranch along the border it is enforcement, not talk, that is desperately needed. Citizens in Arizona report that they are again being overrun with illegal alien traffic. “Drive-throughs,” smuggler’s crashing trucks through fences to reach the highway are more rampant than ever, Ranchers report seeing more tracks and trash than ever before along with very large groups of illegals. One cowboy recently watched with binoculars a group of eighty cross his land. The numbers being seen are a reminiscent of the worst non-enforcement days of the 1990s.

Action is what is needed now—not more talk. We need action on the border fence, and need to get it built without further delay. We need more agents on the border, including the National Guard and the military, to aid apprehension and be a deterrent to the smuggling cartels. We need local law enforcement hooked into a national data base that identifies immigration absconders and illegal aliens so they can be turned over to the feds and deported. We need the EEV, the electronic employment verification process to be mandatory now so we can send the deterrent message that if you are illegally coming to America to get a job that you aren’t going to get it. Wring the bugs out of the system, fix it and let’s go. Computers are worth nothing to us if they can’t do this job for us.

We need to send the deterrent message to the world that we are serious about our border security and we are not doing that. We are, in fact, doing the opposite because inaction sends a message, too. No fence; no increase in officers on the border; no internal immigration enforcement; no mandatory check to see if the employee is a legal worker; all this sends a message that is received loud and clear around the world. That message is that if you can get to America, they can’t get rid of you, or they won’t get rid of you, or in any case you will not be got rid of. Just get there, go for that job, little if any checking is done, don’t wait any longer, get moving—that is the message of US inaction.

This is not to impugn the efforts of those elected officials who are truly concerned about immigration enforcement, and there are more than a few. And any new laws that congress and state legislators can pass and enforce will be useful and welcome. But we have enough laws on the books now to get serious about enforcement; we don’t need to wait for new ones.

Seventeen years has passed since the first warnings and complaints of porous borders. Seventeen years ago brave Californians began to demand that elected officials act to seal the border from smugglers and illegal aliens. Seventeen years ago the effect of unenforced borders on crime, healthcare, education and the environment were being felt and reported to congress and the press. And, there has been seventeen years of explanations, delays and excuses for non-enforcement.

Everything predicted then about what would happen if the invasion wasn’t stopped has come to pass and is now seen in every large American city. And all the talk coming out of congress over the last seventeen years hasn’t stopped one illegal border crosser.

It is time for action. It is long since time to enforce the laws and secure the border. Pass whatever enabling legislation is necessary, but put the emphasis on action, now. Because action, not words, will defend this great country. And it is action that the American people expect and deserve.

Rick Oltman is the National Media Director for Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS) and can be reached at rickoltman@capsweb.org.

Californians for Population Stabilization (CAPS) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit membership organization that relies solely on donations. CAPS works to formulate and advance policies and programs designed to stabilize the population of California, the U.S. and the world at levels which will preserve the environment and a good quality of life for all.